It would make a good pub quiz question. Where and when was the first Rugby union game played in New Zealand?
The REAL New Zealand Festival celebrates the answer to this riddle during Rugby World Cup 2011 with a commemorative match at that very place, the Botanics Reserve in Nelson today. On Saturday 14 May 1870, a crowd of 200 gathered to watch Nelson College take on the Nelson Rugby Football Club. The man hailed for introducing this game with a strange-shaped ball to New Zealand was Nelson identity Mr Charles Monro. Monro had just returned from Christ’s College Finchley in London and is now widely regarded as the ‘father’ of Rugby Union in New Zealand. The 18 men in each team (we must have decided that was too many somewhere along the way) had no idea how this little-known sport would grow into a national passion (some may say religion!). They were also blissfully unaware of the pressure faced by players participating in the Rugby World Cup tournament today. It has been said that Kiwis carry the rare rugby gene which is passed down through generations. Most New Zealanders seem to grow up surrounded by rugby and from an early age can identify their favourite All Blacks. National pride often rides on the outcome of test matches and politicians live in fear of a big All Blacks loss. No doubt the current National government is keeping an anxious eye on the current squad with a general election coming up in November!
Mr Monro and his strange-shaped ball have a lot to answer for!